Vienna/Oakton schools

[Anonymous]

Are they pretty comparable? Also, right now we live in the Falls Church/Mclean area. If we were to move to Oakton (close to Vienna) is it ridiculous to continue to keep my dc at our current preschool? TIA

[Anonymous]

a friend move his dd out of oakton es after a month in K and put her in private because a teacher was unimaginably bad with K kids and had been for years and no hope to transfer.

[Anonymous]

If you're a heavy-duty school snob then Mosby Woods, Cunningham Park, and Freedom Hill might be problematic. Otherwise, house/lot size/condition and your home environment are way way way way way way way more important.

Remember:
1) The principal that everyone raved about left a year ago (or vice-versa).
2) A poison pack of a few bad parents/kids may well ruin things for kids in your DD's grade. That's luck of the draw.
3) High-end schools are at risk of having a "keeping up with the Jones" mentality or having the "must get into TJ at all costs" mentality.

[Anonymous]

Yes, they are comparable. If looking in Oakton, Waples Mill elementary is excellent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:a friend move his dd out of oakton es after a month in K and put her in private because a teacher was unimaginably bad with K kids and had been for years and no hope to transfer.

I know who this is. I was friends with her mother. Small world. (Of course I won't say who it is.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, they are comparable. If looking in Oakton, Waples Mill elementary is excellent.

yes, but it is in a completely different type neighborhood than most of Vienna. And about a 20 minute drive to the Vienna Metro Station.
The question is very broad; I guess the OP doesn't understand how diverse these two communities can be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, they are comparable. If looking in Oakton, Waples Mill elementary is excellent.

yes, but it is in a completely different type neighborhood than most of Vienna. And about a 20 minute drive to the Vienna Metro Station.
The question is very broad; I guess the OP doesn't understand how diverse these two communities can be.

The Waples Mill area is similar to a lot of Vienna outside the town in 22181 or 22182 where the kids attend Flint Hill, Oakton, Colvin Run, Wolftrap or Westbriar ES. The Town of Vienna (22180) has a different feel, with many small houses on small lots.

One issue that comes up in Oakton is that some of the areas feed into Jackson MS and then Oakton HS. Since Jackson MS is primarily a feeder to Falls Church HS, rather than Oakton HS, some of those kids are separated from most of their middle school classmates once they hit high school. Some of the other middle schools that serve Oakton students, such as Franklin, are also "split feeders" that send kids to multiple high school, but the percentages of kids that go to different schools are fairly close. [A similar issue comes in Vienna, where there's a fairly small percentage of the students at Thoreau MS, which is primarily a feeder to Madison HS, go to Marshall HS instead.]

[Anonymous]

OP I live in Oakton (on the Vienna side close to the metro) and I take my kids to PS in Tysons Corner everyday. Its about 25 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the evening. So yes, you can do it.

DD #1 will be in K at Oakton ES this Fall and have heard nothing but good things about the school. We live within walking distance of the school and I agree that Luther for MS is not ideal, (I also went to Luther MS and Oakton HS), who knows where the district lines will be by that time.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the input (esp 10:47 and 11:44). I am very familiar with Vienna but Oakton seems like a good fit as well. Thanks again!

[Anonymous]

this wasn't addressed by any of the posters; you might want to apply to a preschool or two out in Vienna/Oakton. I live in Merrifield and traffic out in these parts can be pretty bad. It would be nice to have options in case you find the commute back to your current preschool really horrendous. (my daughter's daycare is 3 miles from our house and metro and the drive takes FOREVER. we love it, but we're probably switching preschools because I can't take the "30 minute drive to go 3 miles" anymore.) My advice doesn't apply if one or both parents will be driving past the current preschool on the way to work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:this wasn't addressed by any of the posters; you might want to apply to a preschool or two out in Vienna/Oakton. I live in Merrifield and traffic out in these parts can be pretty bad. It would be nice to have options in case you find the commute back to your current preschool really horrendous. (my daughter's daycare is 3 miles from our house and metro and the drive takes FOREVER. we love it, but we're probably switching preschools because I can't take the "30 minute drive to go 3 miles" anymore.) My advice doesn't apply if one or both parents will be driving past the current preschool on the way to work.

Is that 30 minutes round trip, office - daycare - home?

[Anonymous]

Op again...thanks for the help. Feel free to reccomend your awesome Vienna/Oakton preschool!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op again...thanks for the help. Feel free to reccomend your awesome Vienna/Oakton preschool!

Your childs place, intersection 123 and Nutley.

[Anonymous]

Meekins is known to be the best preschool in the Vienna/Oakton area.

[Anonymous]

Popular preschools in Vienna are: Wesley Preschool, Parkwood, Holy Comforter, Vienna Baptist, Meekins, Appletree II, Hunter Mill Country Day, Andrews Chapel, Emmanuel Lutheran, and Vienna Presbyterian.

They all have different age starts (some take children as young as 1; others 2 1/2); some require potty-training; others do not. Some are geared toward working parents; others are not. Some are co-op. Others are not.

While I have heard good things about Meekins preschool, I have never heard a concensus of any type that it is the best preschool in Vienna. I've heard pros and cons about it like all of the others.